Mobile Health Innovation Center (mHIC)

Two New Projects Under Development Utilizing mHIC’s MHCE

TATRC’s Mobile Health Innovation Center (mHIC) successfully utilizes its Mobile Health Care Environment (MHCE) platform for the implementation of research and pilot evaluations to determine the clinical impact on care coordination between patients and providers utilizing an encrypted, bi-directional mobile messaging system. The system conveys information directly to a HIPAA compliant application installed on the patient’s personal cell phone. The MHCE system allows for synchronous and asynchronous communication with patients beyond the limitation of traditional communication mechanisms.

mHIC has two new projects that are under development using the MHCE. Those projects are Forward Operating Base EXpert Telemedicine Resource Utilizing MObile Application for Trauma also known as “FOXTROT” and the Enhanced Capability Demonstration (ECD) for the Joint Health Risk Management (JHRM).

FOXTROT:

Forward Operating Base EXpert Telemedicine Resource Utilizing MObile Application for Trauma also known as “FOXTROT” is one of the two mHIC projects under development.

For project FOXTROT, the vision is to improve and extend ophthalmic trauma care in remote deployed environments. The Principle Investigator (PI) of this new initiative is Maj William Gensheimer, of the 455th Expeditionary Medical Group Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Bagram Airfield, in Afghanistan and is complimented by TATRC’s own mHIC Lab Director, Ms. Jeanette Little, who serves as the Co-PI. The FOXTROT mobile capability incorporates the ability to perform teleophthalmology using the mCare app and clinical peripherals tailored to the ophthalmologic needs of the patient and provider. These features include triage surveys, image capture, chat, secure messaging, video chat, reports, remote health monitoring, and user management. The design will provide complete and comprehensive teleophthalmology capabilities to downrange Service Members, and will include a comprehensive review of current ophthalmology mApps including the Wills Eye Manual, Eye Handbook (EHB), EyesHaveIt, Ullman Indirect, and EyeTube. Testing will occur in CONUS settings, as well as within the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility. This is particularly exciting for TATRC’s mHIC team as it is the first ever Air Force Ocular Trauma project that we have collaborated on.

The operational concept of this capability follows a process by which a wearable blast gauge device transmits data through the blast gauge web application, and is passed to the MHCE where it is then displayed according to the user’s role and needs. It is then parsed out to other systems of record, such as the Electronic Health Record, Global Biosurveillance Portal, and other health data repositories.

TATRC’s Ms. Jeanette Little stated, “We are excited to see TATRC’s mHIC work expand beyond the traditional use cases for mobile devices, and into the environment sensors in a very novel partnership that could lead to more robust collaborations in the future.”

This article was published in the March 2020 issue of the TATRC Times.